By James Toney in Del Mar

An ocean apart, this nation divided is surely in need of some unity, so let's just agree to rally around a common cause - and cheer City of Troy to Del Mar's rafters.

They say it matters more if there's money on it, not even close, besides heart over head is always more fun. Who needs logic when you can have emotion?

It's an opinions game and everyone seems to have one but what's surely beyond dispute is that a Breeders' Cup Classic victory for Aidan O'Brien's brilliant colt would be the achievement of an already storied training career that defies all common superlatives.

O'Brien's Epsom Derby winner is, by all metrics, the best horse in training and should he transfer his dominance on turf to win the world's greatest age-for-weight dirt race, they'll be dusting down a plinth in the all-time pantheon of greats too.

From his hocks to his heart, City of Troy is every inch the swaggering thoroughbred. His father, Justify, was a brilliant US Triple Crown winner, who O'Brien's Coolmore connections knew would be the perfect stud for this mission many years in the planning.

Make no mistake, O'Brien and 'the lads' want this badly, each of the 17 previous attempts have only heightened that desire, Henrythenavigator's second place in 2008 their best return.

“We’ve tried a lot and we’ve failed 100% of the time," said O'Brien, who needs one more win to move clear of legendary American trainer D. Wayne Lukas - who has been advising him this week - as the most successful trainer in Breeders' Cup history.

"All we can do is learn from our weaknesses before and then hope that the horse is good enough to overcome the rest. We’re trying it because it is possible, but he is a three-year-old and a baby and must cope with all the adjustments.”

Questions nag away, will his father's class on dirt translate to his progeny for his first run on the surface? Will he get away quick enough from his lowly draw in stall three to avoid the 'kickback', dirt that flies in your face like a sandstorm, something he'll have never experienced? Many a European raider have suddenly felt the dirt hit their eyes and slammed on the gears in protest.

But, except for a horror run in The Guineas at Newmarket, City of Troy has been unstoppable this season, adding the Derby, Eclipse and Juddmonte International to his resume ahead of this $7 million career swansong.

Yes, he can win at home but playing away remains the true barometer of sporting success, this assignment not so much a 'wet Wednesday in Stoke' but a warm autumn afternoon by the Pacific.

"Aidan is one of the greatest trainers on earth and if he thinks he's good enough, that's enough of a statement for me," said Bob Baffert, who trained Justify and fires Newgate at the race.

"His sire is one of the best racehorses ever, he moves beautifully and you need that for this track, he's stride is so big and long - he floats across the surface - but he's going to have to break very well from that draw. If I can't win it, I want him to win it so badly."

O'Brien is known for frequently labelling horses the 'best he's ever trained', from Istabraq to Auguste Rodin, who did the Derby and Breeders' Cup double last year, though crucially not in the Classic.

The truth is on his seemingly never-ending pursuit of equine perfection, given the heady alchemy of bloodlines and form lines he commands, the best is always yet to come.

Ballydoyle has been blessed but perhaps have yet to have a horse that captured the public imagination, like a Frankel or Enable.

Victory here could change all that, though this will be City of Troy's last dance, there will be no four-year old campaign next season and he retires to stud for a second career act that could well eclipse the first.

This is a nation where the World Series is contested between teams from Los Angeles and New York and racing's World Championships have long been dominated by the super strong home team too.

The green team comes next month with 50 Irish-bred winners and 25 Irish-trained winners since the first meeting was staged in 1984 and this year's event is more international than ever, two days of flat racing it's hard to match wherever you travel.

And City of Troy's biggest rivals are the home hope Fierceness and Japanese Dirt Classic winner Forever Young, making this wide-open Classic a truly global event.

“This has always been the dream but we know when the race happens it will be the fiercest that any thoroughbred can be tested in," adds O'Brien.

"We fail all the time but if we don't fail we don't get better, you always learn more from your failures than your wins."

After 17 attempts you rather sense O'Brien is fed up with learning at the Classic, it's time to graduate and in City of Troy, he's got the star of his class.

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